Dew Collector Greenhouse Provides Veggies and Water in Ethiopia

By: | April 2nd, 2015

The Roots Up Dew Collector Greenhouse is a low technology application dedicated to creating a system of self-reliant farms.

The Roots Up project is a small non-profit operation affiliated with Ethiopia’s University of Gondar. It has developed a dew collecting greenhouse for helping farmers in arid climates raise fresh vegetables, even during droughts, and yield clean water for both irrigation and drinking.

How It Works:

During the day when the temperature starts increasing, the hot air is trapped inside this dome-like greenhouse, which results in evaporation of water. This increase in air humidity makes the greenhouse atmosphere better for plants’ growth and maximizing the dew harvest.

When night falls, the greenhouse top is opened by pulling the ropes attached to the latch. This exposes the collected water vapors to cool air, which results in their condensation to form small droplets on the surface of the bioplastic sheet falling into the water tank container. The water thus collected can then be used for watering plants and also as safe drinking water.

Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

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